July 2022 Monthly Update - September Rehearsals
CNS Singers:
Now that we have successfully performed our first concert in more than two years it’s time to start preparing for next season.
We will be performing Handel’s “Messiah” the first weekend in December and a combination of Haydn and Mozart “Classical Greats” in early June 2023. Rehearsal for both will begin the first Monday after Labor Day, September 12, 2022, at Ipswich High School.
The criteria for participation will remain the same, masks, proof of vaccination and booster. As we approach September, a pre-registration date (to pick up any needed music and show proof of vaccination) as well as a rehearsal schedule will be sent to those who have confirmed participation.
What we need for the moment is a return e-mail confirming you will be participating:
- Your current profile information
- Address
- Phone number
- Singing Part
- Music needs (music will not be ordered for you unless you note the pieces you need)
- December:
- Handel
- “Messiah"
- Handel
- June:
- Mozart
- "Coronation Mass"
- Haydn -
- "Te Deum"
- "The Heavens Are Telling" from The Creation
- "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken"
- "The Spacious Firmament"
- Mozart
- December:
You will not be considered confirmed until an e-mail with the above information has been received by the deadline.
Please respond to Annmarie Baldisserotto at ab869@outlook.com no later than August 1, 2022.
See you in September!
Donn Kurjan, President
Chorus North Shore
May 2022 Update
May 2022 Monthly Update
We are rapidly approaching our first performance in over two years. On June 25, 2022, Chorus North Shore will perform Light in Times of Struggle, featuring ‘’Faure’s Requiem” and Morten Lauridsen’s “Lux Aeterna” as well as Brahms “How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place’’. All of us in the Chorus North Shore community and beyond have faced significant challenges during this time; some life-altering and some very painful. It is our intent to honor those who have been lost in the past two years through the music we will perform and bring some peace to those who remain.
Those who wish to memorialize a loved one can have their loved one’s name added to the program for $10.00. Entries can be made by going to www.chorusnorthshore.org no later than June 1, 2022.
Tickets may also be purchased online; $19.00 for seniors and students, $22.00 for general admission. Simply follow the prompts. Tickets will also be available from Chorus members and at the door. Performance starts at 7:00pm.
One of the many changes affecting us has been a significant reduction in the size of Chorus North Shore. That loss is not only measured in the voices we miss but also, in the manpower needed to successfully present a choral performance for which Chorus North Shore is known. One element that allows us to meet that standard is being able to see Sunny as we sing and to project our voices to the audience by standing on risers. We are in desperate need of transporting risers to Our Lady of Hope in Ipswich for Thursday June 23,2022 for dress rehearsal and returning the risers to South Hamilton after the performance. With a smaller chorus our riser needs are reduced. Anyone who wishes to volunteer some time and a pickup truck or van would be greatly appreciated. The risers are 6 feet in length. If you able to help, please contact Marya Machart at maryamachart@gmx.com.
We hope that we can bring back some of the joy that that left us more than two years ago.
Stay well,
Donn Kurjan, President
Chorus North Shore
April 2022 Update-2
Fellow Chorus North Shore members,
As you know, rehearsals have been proceeding for the past month and showing great signs of progress with each session. The music is challenging but as Sunny reminds us “if you practice enough, eventually you can’t get it out of your head”. Both “Lux Aeterna” and Faure’s “Requiem” are demanding but beautiful pieces.
I am pleased to announce that Chorus North Shore will be performing “Lux Aeterna”, Faure’s “Requiem “as well as” How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place” on June 25,2022 at 7:00pm at Our Lady of Hope Church in Ipswich, MA.
With a performance date secured, we are now in need of volunteers to aid in making our return a success. Anyone who would like to contribute their time, energy and skill to one of the many tasks (tickets, ads, publicity, program etc.), necessary for the high-quality concert that has become our trademark, please contact Marya Machart at maryamachart@gmx.com.
In other news, Chorus North Shore will be submitting its slate for next year’s Board of Trustees members for Fiscal Year2023. Anyone interested joining the board and working for the continued growth of the Chorus North Shore please contact any member of the Nominating Committee. They are Penny Jones at banjopenny2@gmail.com, Anne Mills at millsannes@gmail.com and Cindy Marshall at marshall1973@verizon.net.
Stay well,
Donn Kurjan, President
Board of Trustees
Chorus North Shore
April 2022 Update
- A performance date of Saturday, June 25, 2022, at 7:00pm (note earlier start time!!!) has been set. Downbeat at 6:00pm.
- Dress rehearsal will be Thursday, June 23, 2022, with downbeat at 7:30.
- Now that we have a performance date, we need to shore up the roster of performance-related jobs. Anyone interested in volunteering for one of the myriad of roles please contact Marya Machart at maryamarchart@gmx.com.
- We will hold our Annual Chorus North Shore meeting on Monday, May 2, 2022, between breaks at rehearsal. The agenda will include voting on next year’s Board of Trustees members as well as a few changes in the By-laws. Anyone interested in becoming a board member please contact a member of the Nominating Committee. Penny Jones at banjopenny2@gmail.com; Cindy Marshall at marshall1973@verizon.net ; Anne Mills at millsannes@gmail.com
Please Note:
Current members NOT singing are encouraged to come, listen and vote on issues that require one. It is also NOT a requirement that a board member be a "singing" member of the chorus.
April 2022 Update
Chorus North Shore is finally back together again. We have just completed our third rehearsal and, although the music is challenging, we’re making great progress. Sunny has chosen three compositions in honor of all the losses we, as a community, a nation and the world have had to face in the past two-plus years. We are working on Faure’s “Requiem”, Lauridsen’s “Lux Aeterna” as well as” How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place”. We have a tentative performance date in late June but are waiting to see what the next few months will bring before making a firm commitment.
As many of you know, making a performance a success requires many individuals working behind the scenes. With the Chorus reduced to approximately half its normal size those tasks fall to a diminished pool of volunteers. The Board of Trustees is currently working to identify, specifically, which roles need to be filled and should have more details within the next two weeks. Anyone who would like to join in making our upcoming performance a success can volunteer by contacting Marya Machart, at maryamachart@gmx.com.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted us all. Sometimes in small ways like curtailing our singing; sometimes in more personal ways like silencing a voice forever. We are looking forward to the day when restrictions are a thing of the past and we are able to bring all the people that created one unified, powerful voice together again.
Stay Well,
Donn Kurjan
President, Board of Trustees
February 2022 Update
Chorus North Shore Singers,
We have finally reached the point for which we have all been waiting. The results of the survey sent in late October enabled us to establish specific criteria that would allow CNS singers to comfortably return to rehearsal and performing. For those who confirmed you would be joining CNS as requested in CNS’s November and December Monthly updates, rehearsals will begin in early March with a tentative June performance. The current chorus limit was capped on a first come first serve basis. If you recall from our January update, 60 voices were the maximum number of individuals the Ipswich High School choral room could accommodate based on a three-foot safe distancing policy established from CDC recommendations. We now have a waitlist for others wishing to sing. Anyone wishing to register for the waitlist can do so by contacting Annmarie Baldisserotto at ab869@outlook.com.
The board spent a considerable amount of time deciding what variables would allow singers to comfortably return; vaccinations with boosters, full time masks and a maximum of 60 singers were some of the measures put in place. Ultimately the safety of every single individual involved in rehearsal was what framed the decision making. It was understood the some would not return because their concerns were not met.
Our intent was not to be exclusionary; it is our fervent hope that Chorus North Shore will return stronger than ever. We see CNS as more than those singing in any one concert. It is a large group of people who do a myriad of things to keep the chorus thriving; from providing financial support, to manning the ticket table, to delivering the risers to our performance venue. It is not uncommon for non-singers to perform many of the tasks that go into creating a successful performance. We are in great need of volunteers, both non-singers and singers, to help fill the rolls of those many tasks. Our short-term success will determine our long-term future.
With the coming of March, we will once again carry on the tradition of community based choral music. The covid-19 pandemic may have temporarily silenced our voices, it may have reduced our numbers for the moment, but it has not diminished our desire to join together in song. We are confident with the support of the CNS family we will be back bigger and better than ever.
Anyone who would like to join in making our upcoming performance a success can volunteer by contacting Marya Machart, at maryamachart@gmx.com.
Stay Well,
Donn Kurjan
President, Board of Trustees
Rehearsals Start March 14th!
Due to the pandemic and 60-singer capacity in the rehearsal space, the Board emailed recent members to see who was interested in returning to singing, with full vaccination status and masks.
A full complement of singers has signed up, and these members have been contacted about starting rehearsals at the Ipswich High School on March 14 at 7:00pm.
- If you would like to sing and would like to be placed on a waiting list, please contact Annmarie Baldisserotto, our membership coordinator, at ab869@outlook.com.
- Two Section Leaders have chosen to not sing this semester, so please contact CNS President Donn Kurjan at president@chorusnorthshore.org if you will be rehearsing and would like to help by being a key contact for the Soprano or Alto sections.
- The Board of Trustees is also looking for two people to serve on the Sunny Pryor Endowment Committee. If you, or someone you know is interested, please contact President Donn Kurjan - president@chorusnorthshore.org.
Pre-Registration will take place on Saturday, March 5,
10 am – 12N at Ascension Memorial Church in Ipswich in the church.
Please make sure to bring:
- Proof of full vaccination and booster check (screen shots of vaccinations are acceptable).
- Pay for dues and music: (Have two checks ready, payable to Chorus North Shore with “dues” and “music” on the memo lines respectively.)
- Dues:
- $60 ($30 for new members)
- Music:
- Lux Aeterna - Lauridsen $9.00
- How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place? - Brahms $1.35
- Requiem - Faure (gently used) $5.00
Please let us know if you have had any change in plans and will not be joining us this session ASAP since we do have a waiting list of singers.
Support for a Fellow Chorus Member
Fellow Singers,
One of our fellow CNS singers and board members has been extremely ill and hospitalized since before Christmas. Stephen Moore has spent more than a month in ICU at Lahey Burlington. He has recently demonstrated signs of improvement and rehab is now being discussed.
His illness is unrelated to COVID-19 but the hospital implemented a no-visitor policy since the recent Omnicron surge and, as a result, Stephen has been without the encouragement of family or friends going on three weeks.
I have been in communication with Stephen’s wife, Joyce, and she would gladly bring any cards or letters to Stephen once the no-visitor policy is lifted.
Any correspondence can be sent to their home address:
Stephen Moore
12 Pomeroy Road
North Reading, MA 01864
Donn Kurjan, President
Board of Trustees
Chorus North Shore
